Toyota Sienna reliability by year
46 recall campaigns and 5,138 owner complaints across 16 model years. Best year to buy: 2020. Year to avoid: 2011.
Worst model years to avoid → — the single year to avoid for every model line we track, ranked side by side.
Years to avoid — and why 7 flagged on the NHTSA record
Cleaner on the data: 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 . Still verify the specific vehicle.
At-a-glance: every year color-coded
Each cell shows the last two digits of the model year and its 0–10 reliability score from NHTSA data. Click any year to see the full record. ★ best year · ✕ year to avoid.
Year-by-year reliability 16 model years · newest first
Per-year recall counts add up to 132, more than the 46 campaigns above, because a single NHTSA campaign often covers several model years and is counted once in each.
Common trouble spots across the Sienna aggregated across 16 model years
Common questions
What's the best year to buy a Toyota Sienna?
Based on NHTSA complaint volume and severity weighting, the 2020 Toyota Sienna scores 7.8/10 — the strongest in the 2005–2020 range. 38 complaints on file, 2 active recalls. Reliability scores reflect the federal complaint record, not subjective owner reviews.
Which Toyota Sienna year should I avoid?
The 2011 Toyota Sienna scores 3.0/10 — the weakest in the lineup. 614 owner complaints with NHTSA, 14 active recalls. That doesn't mean every 2011 is a problem — it means failure rates run higher than peer model years on the same platform.
Which years of the Toyota Sienna should I avoid?
On the NHTSA complaint and recall record, the model years to be most careful with are 2007 (avoid — the powertrain — 1 fatality report and 3 crash-related complaints on the powertrain); 2006 (avoid — the body — 1 fatality report and 1 crash-related complaint on the body); 2005 (avoid — the cruise-control — 1 fatality report and 16 crash-related complaints on the cruise-control); 2012 (high-risk ownership — body: 40 complaints, classified severe); 2011 (high-risk ownership — body: 94 complaints, classified severe); 2009 (high-risk ownership — body: 84 complaints, classified severe). The cleaner years on the data are 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015. This is our read of the federal data, not a substitute for a pre-purchase inspection of the specific vehicle.
How many years of the Toyota Sienna are tracked?
16 model years (2005 through 2020) with NHTSA records on file. Total across the lineup: 46 distinct recall campaigns and 5,138 owner complaints. Those campaigns land on 132 model-year entries in total, because one campaign often covers several years at once — which is why per-year recall counts add up to more than the campaign count.
What's the most-reported problem on the Toyota Sienna?
body is the most-reported category — 1,300 complaints across 16 model years. Average shop repair runs about $1,500.